Finance

A new report by Aspire Circle India estimates the potential of renewable energy and the clean-tech sector according to parameters such as revenue and job creation by 2030, and highlights the top 10 areas for investment.

Reliance Industries says that production will begin at its 10 GW factory for solar cells and modules by 2024. It plans to double the facility’s capacity to 20 GW by 2026 and is aiming for 50 GWh of annual cell-to-pack battery capacity by 2027.

Japanese carmaker Suzuki Motor is investing INR 7,300 crore (around $914 million) to set up the electric vehicle battery plant at Hansalpur in Gujarat. The plant will manufacture advanced-chemistry cell batteries.

The Norwegian Climate Investment Fund, managed by Norfund, and KLP, Norway’s largest pension company, have signed a deal to raise a 49% stake in a 420 MW solar power plant in India developed by Italy’s Enel Green Power. 

ReNew Power, a Nasdaq-listed Indian developer, has secured $1 billion in external commercial borrowings for a 1.3 GW wind-solar energy project, backed by up to 100 MWh of battery storage. The project is co-owned by Japanese investor Mitsui and will supply round-the-clock power under a 25-year power purchase agreement.  

Venture capital investment in solar and energy storage companies in sub-Saharan Africa brings with it considerable risk, but also holds the promise of making an outsized impact in delivering clean energy access. KawiSafi Ventures Managing Director Amar Inamdar says that venture capital investment in frontier markets will be a key part of the “capital stack” required to pursue the joint goals of leapfrogging fossil fuel energy development in the continent and lighting up African lives.

The three companies will receive incentives under the government’s production-linked incentives scheme for battery storage. The scheme has an overall budgetary outlay of INR 18,100 crore (around US$ 2,284 million).

The nation reached a cumulative 57.7 GW of solar power generation capacity by June 30, 2022. Rajasthan (14.4 GW), Gujarat (7.8 GW), and Karnataka (7.6 GW) top in PV installations.

A new report looks at the current status of climate finance for cleantech startups in India. It highlights the opportunities and challenges and presents potential solutions to accelerate climate tech finance in the country.

The average global price of solar kilowatt-hours fell 13% on 2020’s prices, as around two-thirds of the renewables capacity installed last year was cheaper than the lowest-cost fossil fuel alternative.